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Title: The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way We Really Live
ISBN: 1561583766
Author:
Sarah Susanka
Publicate Date: 2001-03-31
Publish: 2001-03-31
List Price: $22.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.0
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $9.98
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $7.49
Amazon Merchant Price: $15.61
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1: Outdated details, but timeless concepts
First of all, I bought this book used and it was not in very good condition. A page that I really wanted to read was missing, for one thing. Unfortunately, I can't recall the seller's name now but I left a bad review when I received no response to my concern.
But anyway, the book itself was very good. My husband and I are remodeling a house built in 1949 which used every nook and cranny for some function. It doesn't fit the modern concept of lots of empty space, so we are working on creating a little more empty space while using some of Susanka's ideas for making certain areas more compact. We are expanding our kitchen into a porch, but the ceiling in the porch is lower and this book gave us the idea to just keep it as it is because lowered ceilings add character and are something Frank Lloyd Wright used. I also like her recommendations for wood trim and moulding to warm up rooms and use many windows to bring the outside in. As my title implies, some of the details are pretty outdated such as any picture involving a computer and the kitchen chairs, but that can be overlooked since the overall ideas are still very usable.
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2: Sound ideas, Great house.
The Not So Big House was given me by a craftsman friend who had used it building his new, wonderful home.
I kept this book through my new addition / remodel project of 7 months, using it as the reference for my decisions.
The ideas are sound; easy to understand and implement. I recommend The Not So Big House to anyone embarking on a home building project who loves good design and is on a budget.
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3: wonderful book
This book was absolutely awesome. Beautifully illustrated, excellent content, and I totally agree with the idea that McMansions are not the way to go. I'd much rather have a smaller home that has been personalized to me and made beautiful than some big, cold half-empty McMansion.
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4: Are these homes really small?
I was expecting her projects to downsize to ~1000 square feet. It felt like she was reducing large McMansions to smaller McMansions. Good photographs though!
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5: Makes no sense to me...
"You can only sit in one chair at a time."
This was a great quote I heard about the unnecessary owning of "American houses" with too much space. In spite of the promise and premise of this book, I found practically NOTHING here to be of real value, outside of some beautiful photographs that one can find in any Home & Garden magazine. I had heard so much about it, a "bestseller" and great reviews, that I went ahead and ordered it; too bad I hadn't seen it in person before I purchased it. One look and it would have been back on the shelf, probably.
The entire book seems to be a short "essay" or "article" that was then illustrated with many unrelated large photos and small diagrams (without dimensions, I might add). The text doesn't match the photos on the same page in many cases, making it very difficult or impossible to read through. The book has been laid out with the photos as the main thing on the page, and text seems to be inserted here and there to fill up any blank space.
I never could really read the book or use it at all since I was constantly trying to figure out "what went with what." I have to agree with another comment that said this book was really just a sales & marketing effort" for her architectural firm. What else could it be? 2,000 sq. ft. is NOT a "not so big house." I won't go into anymore about that, since others have already done it and probably much better than me.
Here's two in particular that I LOVED reading:
Review by "Reginleif II" & reply by "Contented:"
Thank you BOTH so much for your hilarious and exact, on point, review and comments... I was thinking the same thing about this dratted book, wondering why - after reading nothing but "bestseller" and "glowing reviews" what exactly I was missing! Now I know... that outdoor backyard BBQ pit grilling "spotted owls" and more. Of course, I would have to draw the line at "baby seals" (and all the other endangered species you mention) but "tongue in cheek" this one had me laughing so hard I just about fell off the bed!
The whole thing, in fact. Some people would call me a "liberal," but the Bobo factor has always turned me away. Just like "Contented" said, next I too will enjoy googling "Bobos in Paradise." Thanks for an excellent way to end this Happy Thanksgiving weekend.
Honest to God, until I read some of these critiques here on Amazon, I thought I was losing my mind! I didn't see ANYTHING "small" about that house. I build houses and specialize in creating and restoring the most beautiful little houses (by the time I'm done) which are all under 1,000 sq. ft.
The one I'm in right now is 700 sq. ft. and I have a bedroom, office, large bathroom, kitchen, living room, enclosed sun room, porch and deck... the whole house is like "living in my garden" with sunlight streaming in at all hours of the day. It's really amazing, as I used to have 3,000 sq. ft. and it took a full-time cleaning lady. Now I can do it in about an hour, and I still have just about everything I need.
I also have three storage sheds, to which I've added French doors and used them as long windows on one entire side of the sheds, so they are filled with light and could be a real studio or workroom. Now that's what I call "not so big."
Heck, I had a friend and his girlfriend living in one of the sheds which was fixed up as a little cabin, even had a porta-potty inside, queen bed, shelving, pull out couch, TV, microwave, 10 ft x16 ft (160 sq. ft) w/deck, and they had everything THEY needed. And I DON'T live in California, but an hour outside of Raleigh out in the country (where the author Sarah Susanka lives).
Now that's what I call "living well in small spaces." If you have a beautiful garden, you really "live" outdoors, even if it's just looking out your window. The house is really just a space for a few functions, and the total ENVIRONMENT is what counts. The way the light falls into the room, seeing the moon and stars overhead outside your bedroom window; sitting outside on a small deck or balcony and drying off in a robe or towel... fountains, walkways, park benches, blooming trees, shrubs and flower beds... and a beautiful place to work, cook and sleep indoors; what more do you need? That's the way I, and most people I know, "really live." In the workroom or bedroom or in front of the TV or computer. When you get down to it, none of those spaces take up very much space.
Counting the view of the garden as "living space" really stretches your living AREA just by looking out French doors and windows. If you have hard paving (wood, brick, concrete, flagstone etc.) outdoors with walkways that go all around the house, the garden suddenly becomes magically accessible, and you will find yourself outside a lot more of the time. Who needs a big or "not so big" house if you can go outdoors? Even if you are indoors, adding double windows to walls and glass paned French doors extends your site line to the edge of the property or a line of screen hedges or trees, which doubles or triples the "feel" of the space you are inhabiting. It's really pretty marvelous, and this book does not address any of this.
Sight lines from inside the house mean more to the design of a structure than just the floorplan and arrangement of squares or rectangles we call "rooms." You are just moving from one box to another. It's like living in a maze, and you can hardly find your way out. Every house should be sited on it's own lot, with doors, windows, entrance and exits designed to take the entire property into account. Making sure to put in upstairs windows that allow vistas of the trees and surrounding properties changes everything; it's like "living in the trees" and enjoying the fall color and the Spring blush. It changes everything. Being able to enjoy the whole world" at your fingertips and eyesight, and hearing bird songs in the morning means a lot more than simple "square footage," no matter how much you do or don't have.
At least this is how I design and built all the little cottages I have done, and they all seem to be just perfect for one or two people, or small families without too many kids. Adding children of course changes things somewhat, but that's another discussion.
By the way, I'm a contractor, landscaper and computer programmer, and I get more conservative with each passing year. Oh, My God. Am I turning into my parents?
Thanks again to the reviewers and commentators that saw this thing in the same light I did. Made me feel "sane" again after all the b.s. in the book. Now, what do I do with it now that I purchased it? Donate it to the library? Didn't make any sense to me...
Now to find a real book on "small spaces" or write one of my own. Any suggestions?
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